Emerald Home adding outdoor furniture

TACOMA, Wash. - Furniture and bedding supplier Emerald Home Furnishings is adding a comprehensive collection of outdoor furniture to its product assortments. According to Emerald President David Beckmann, the new line of outdoor furniture will be first shown to dealers at a private showing in High Point in June in the company's Center Point showroom and will be officially launched at the next High Point Premarket, Sept. 9-10. The new line will be in stock and ready to sell by the first quarter of 2014. In preparing the launch, Emerald is collaborating with brothers Gary and Lyle Ecoff, veterans of the outdoor arena. Gary Ecoff had been founder and president of Fla.-based Carl's Patio while Lyle had been vice president of Carl's Patio and was p r e s i d e n t of the original Robb & Stucky's outdoor furniture division. According to Beckmann, the new division will launch as Emerald Outdoor and will include, "a comprehensive assortment of sling, woven, cast iron and wood sets."

"Everyone knows that outdoor furniture is exploding and an increasing number of traditional furniture retailers are anxious to get into the category. But even so, there is some hesitancy because they are not experts in the segment," he added.

Beckmann

L. Ecoff

G. Ecoff

Beckmann said the Ecoff brothers have strong backgrounds as retailers in the category and as product designers and specifiers - which will take virtually all of the guesswork out of the equation for traditional retailers. Lyle Ecoff said the line would also be suitable for many of the larger outdoor specialty retailers. The majority of the products will be sourced in Asia as part of a container-direct launch. Emerald will keep backup inventory in stock at its 200,000-square foot warehouse in Tacoma, Wash. Beckmann said the company intends to offer traditional furniture retailers a veritable turnkey approach to the outdoor category with furniture, including fire pits, targeting the sweet spot of the category in looks and pricing. Five-piece sets, which will feature Sunbrella and other performance fabrics, are expected to open at $999 with the strength of the assortment at $1,500, he said, adding, "We may top out with five-piece sets that retail for $2,500."